It was the worst of times; it was the best of times.
Truthfully, it was somewhere in between, although the overall impression as I
write this post was that well, it wasn’t good! Sailing out of Miami it all
seemed rather surreal. Beautiful night! A brief stay in a waterfront hotel with
a fully staffed bar and a nearby seafood restaurant called Casablanca on the
Bay was pleasant enough. And beneath our feet an equally beautiful ship! To say
that Margo’s and my spirits were riding high would have not only been an
understatement but somewhat discourteous to the cruise line that we had
selected.
We had booked passage on the Seabourn Ovation. A 689’
luxury cruise ship rated among the best luxury small cruise ships, having
topped the list more than once. If you aren’t familiar with the vessels then
you may want to check out this 2018 promo following its
big win that year. This wasn’t our first voyage with Seabourn as readers of
posts to this blog may recall the brief update that was included in the post of
November 24, 2011 – Dalmatians,
and other dog tales … (On that particular trip in 2011 we sailed from
Venice to the Port of Rome otherwise known as Port of Civitavecchia.)
Once we had boarded our vessel and settled into our
cabin it was time to officially begin relaxing. Margo took to it quickly even
as we both wrapped up unpacking from our travels to Miami. We had one of the
bigger veranda suites and it was over the top beautiful. A bathroom with a bathtub
and a wardrobe that was a true walk-in closet that we couldn’t fill with all
that we had packed and a separate living and dining room that led to a really
nicely sized balcony!
From the outset, the difference between Seabourn and
say a large cruise line like Princess was how the staff went about ensuring our
comfort. Within the first hour or so, almost everyone we ran into knew our
names and greeted us with Mr. Buckle and Ms. Holen. If you don’t know anything
about Seabourn’s much admired caviar service together with an almost unlimited
supply of champagne then let me tell you: It’s all true – from the time we sat
down at the dining table in our room, the caviar service was our constant
companion.
Taking a little artistic license, the photo above is of
the central atrium where a twisting helix of staircases rose from decks three
to eleven. Above it all was a blue-tinted glass roof that gave the stairwell a
bright glow 24 x 7. Seabourn Square was the hub that drew everyone into its spacious
surroundings. Did you know that the coffee bar roasted its own beans almost
daily?
Mornings were always about grabbing two cappuccinos and
two butter croissants to go just to tide us over before breakfast. There was no
purser’s desk and no service center as such. Tables surrounding the central
column provided workspace for staff to address our needs in the most casual and
relaxed atmosphere we have ever encountered. No lines whatsoever? And bigger
still; no tipping!
This cruise came with some history. It was to be the first time Ovation would stop into a number of ports as it traversed the Caribbean, passed through the Panama Canal and glided up the coast of Central America as it made its way to Long Beach / San Pedro. On the occasion we pulled into port, there were ceremonies for the Captain as he received commemorative plaques. So yes, we were spoilt rotten. Nothing was too much to do for us – you need a full size bottle of Johnny Walker Black for your room? Not enough champagne – is four bottles enough? How about a full size bottle of Hennessey Cognac? What could possibly go wrong?
To start with it was all about the history. This vessel
was to sail on from Long Beach down to Sydney, Australia, where it would be
based for the rest of the northern hemisphere’s winter. However, with COVID
becoming as rampant as it has proved to be, Australia wasn’t an ideal home
location for any cruise ship so no, the Ovation would be turning around,
heading back to Miami, where it would begin a series of seven day Caribbean
cruises. Turns out that this decision left a lot of potential cruise guests
high and dry; with the threat of COVID looming over us all, the Ovation was
only lightly occupied. As for our cruise, it would last three weeks and would
take us deep into a tropical climate where the temperatures – air and water –
climbed rapidly.
First port of call? Aruba. Wonderful but no, not exactly. The news about the call for Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) had made it onboard and even though we had to be tested within 48 hours of boarding – and yes, we were both negative even as we were both triple-shot and for extra caution, had our flu shots as well – we continued to be tested on a regular basis. Just a day out from Aruba several guests as well as crew tested positive so Aruba closed up shop. No go even though we docked briefly for supplies and something else; we had a crew member pass away the day before, but not from COVID. Ouch; as news spread throughout the ship we began to wonder what next!
Next port of call was Curaçao, a port I had visited
almost fifty years prior. The walk from the Ovation to the bridge and then into
the old town under a scorching sun wasn’t something we enjoyed, but even so,
simply stretching our sea legs on land seemed more than appropriate. There were
two very large cruise ships docked a little further away but the crowds
converged on the city’s floating bridge to the point of discomfort. There was
no way to exercise social distancing. So
yes, we scurried back on board as quickly as we could.
Our next port of call was Huatulco, Mexico. We hadn’t planned on taking a tour while we
paid the port a call and it proved the right call. Those that had ventured into
the town center were overwhelmed with a walking mob estimated to be in the
thousands as Guatemala was only sixty kilometers away. A very uncomfortable
feeling, we were told by the returning guests. It was in Huatulco that I saw
the captain being welcomed under a tent and given another plaque in response to
the Ovation stopping by. But it is probably best to backtrack just a little as the
distance between Curaçao and Huatalco is considerable.
Lying between Curaçao and Huatulco is not only the
Panama Canal but Costa Rica and yes, Guatemala. We traversed the Canal north to
south – no, the canal doesn’t run east to west – and then sailed the Pacific
Ocean northwards past both of these countries. Our passage through the canal
was via the original locks built when the canal was first opened. It remains an
awesome sight seeing such large vessels being lifted up and over hills into an
elevated lake and to this day, knowing some 20,000 plus workers died in the
process of creating the canal, it still sends a chill through my body.
Following Margo’s positive test result she was placed
in quarantine for ten days while I had to remain in my room, in isolation (as a
close contact no less) but only for four days. Now, to put this into
perspective, we booked this cruise back in 2020 shortly after COVID struck.
Yes, the cruise lines were offering deep discounts and at the time, I don’t
think anyone thought the pandemic would last two plus years. Furthermore, we
were treating this cruise as our anniversary cruise chalking up, as it were,
the passing of another marital milestone. No, we wouldn’t be together for a
full ten days and no, they wouldn’t even give Margo a key to her cabin just to
be sure that there would be no midnight sneaking away from a cabin!
It was rough and although we could pretty much order
anything we liked, for the first two days our meals arrived on cardboard plates
with wooden utensils. The meal was cold and for Margo, as her ability to taste
and smell diminished, nothing felt edible. It did improve after we made a few
anxious calls to the service desk and we did get a significant upgrade to the
adult beverages they supplied but overall, it was a miserable time. And it got worse.
I was retested after four days and was once again negative so I was let out.
Alone; without Margo it wasn’t all that enjoyable I have to admit.
With an increase in guests turning positive for COVID, neither
Costa Rica nor Guatemala would let the Ovation dock in their countries. Given
how Aruba and Costa Rica contributed to us selecting this particular cruise not
being able to step ashore was a huge disappointment. At this point in time the
cruise was providing us with very little as it gradually became the worst of
times. We may have started out being canal minded, looking forward to the
Panama Canal, but it wasn’t a true substitute for some of the ports of call we
had looked forward to visiting. We had several shore excursions that could not
and did not happen.
The Ovation featured a specialty restaurant called The Grill by Thomas Keller. Yes, that Thomas Keller of Napa Valley fame, the chef of the French Laundry. You could only make two reservations per cruise in order to give every guest an opportunity to enjoy. The menu was a fixed menu – the same each night. Margo and I had made a reservation for the night of our anniversary plus one other. Once I was released from my room I made a beeline for the restaurant and talked my way into a table.
Thereafter I made it to the restaurant’s bar at six
o’clock each night and for a total of eight occasions managed to find a table.
Yes, the hostess was aware of how many guests weren’t out of the cabins so
wasting a table just didn’t make sense to her. Nor to me, fortunately. And let
me tell you, as miserable as I happened to be all that time, a good meal
certainly did make a difference. Ever had a full chicken carved tableside?
Wonderful! As soon as she was released from her cabin Margo joined me in
heading for this restaurant and we ate there each of the two remaining nights
we were aboard the Ovation.
As for the sights, not only did Margo miss out on all the sights along the central American coastline it meant that she missed out witnessing the evening arrival of the dragon that liked to sip on seawater as the sun dropped below the horizon. Seriously, when I took the photo below the angle that presented itself from high on the Ovation sure did make the rock formation take on the form of an ancient mythical beast. As for the other vessels in the area they surely must have seen it as well. I wonder where those stories about sea monsters originated?
It was somewhere been the worst of times and the best
of times. Perhaps it’s best left to simply say we made the best of the worst
times we faced. Being isolated and alone for a much longed for anniversary
cruise was hard to take and yet, once we were reunited, Margo and I soon let
those lost days fall away. Simply being able to order breakfast in our room and
to sit and read a book soon had us enjoying the cruise as we had done on those
first few days almost two weeks earlier.
Seabourn has proved very generous in its attempt to
make up for all that happened and it now looks like we will be able to enjoy a
heavily subsidized cruise in the summer of 2024. We are now back home,
returning to normal even as I am back at work full time. Margo and I were happy
to visit with her daughter and two of the three grandkids and Margo has since
gone back to see them a couple more times. In a week’s time the third grandkid
will be back home following 6 weeks at the Minnesota’s Gillette’s hospital with
intense PT following critical surgery and we will now get to enjoy a delayed Christmas
celebration!
As we enjoyed a holiday weekend we had the opportunity
to entertain our neighbors and good friends, the Fowlers. So of course, it was
time to break out a bottle of wine from our own cellar and simply sipping on a
1995 bottle of Silver Oak certainly did the trick. Canal vision? North to
South? The worst of times? All behind us now and even as we know all too well
life is an adventure, here’s to something a little less adventurous next time!
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